The Evolution of Batman and Batgirl
by Batfamily2001
Summary: A sister story to The Evolution of Batman and Robin. Following the various Batgirls, starting with Barbara and transitioning to Cass, plus some Stephanie.
1. You're Who?

**AUTHORS NOTE: Companion piece to The Evolution of Batman and Robin. Takes place in the same universe. Will contain similar tone and character.**

Barbara Gordon was twelve the first time she saw Batman in person. He showed up on her porch to talk to her dad. Ever since then she has had a sort of obsession. Well, not really an obsession, more like a curiosity.

She's curious about what drive him. What makes him do what he does? She's curious about who he is under the mask. Who is he? But she's most curious about his partner. What made this kid want to start fighting crime? What happening to him?

She was 14 when Robin first appeared, and it was mesmerizing to watch him on TV. Batman, he was quick and all, but Robin had a grace about the way he moved. It was mesmerizing to watch them fight crime.

She's 15 now, it's January first and she should be celebrating the New Year with her dad. Except, her dad is working. Apparently Joker escaped, again. She turns on the TV and that's when she sees it. A headline on the TV news channel that reads 'Commissioner James Gordon being held hostage by Joker.'

Her stomach flips. She rushes out of the house and calls a cab. She tells the cabbie, "Drive to the GCPD quick!"

When they arrive she hands him money quickly and rushes out into the police headquarters. She walks past the front desk and up to Bullock. "Harvey, what's going on?"

"Honey, what the hell you doing here?" Bullock asks avoiding her question.

"Harvey, I saw on the TV that Joker has my dad. Tell me it isn't true," Barbara begs. Harvey avoids eye contact with her. She begins crying.

"Don't worry honey, we got everyone working on getting your dad back." He says giving her a hug. Then he whispers in her ear, "I even talked to Batman. He and Robin are trying to figure out where the Joker is."

He crying subsides for a minute as she says, "Let me help."

"Sweetie just go home. You've been through enough already," Bullock tells her, "Here, I'll go drive you home." Harvey begins walking out with her, but turns around and shouts, "Montoya I'm taking Barbara home! Be back in forty!" He continues walking out with Barbara and they get in his car.

They get to Gordon's home and Barbara gets out. "Just rest. Take a nap even. By the time you wake up we'll have your dad back," Bullock says uncharacteristically optimistic. She walks inside and Bullock begins driving away.

Barbara knows that she just has to help. She won't just wait for her dad to come back. She has been good with computer for years, and she has been hacking into things for the past couple of years to test her abilities. She hacks into security footage of where her dad was last seen, the old Clocktower.

She watches the footage and sees her dad clearly in it. In the footage her dad is looking in the alley at something that's obscured because of the angle the camera is on. About a minute into the video a dark van pulls up and takes him. As he is being taken he drops something though.

She decides to check out Crime Alley, but she can't go dressed like this. She takes out her old gray gymnastics leotard. She also takes out a Batman cape and mask, from when her dad went as Batman to a Halloween Party a few months back. She realizes the mask is too tight because of her hair to, so she cuts a hole in the back of the mask for it.

She goes into her garage and borrows one of her dad's motorcycles he bought during his midlife crisis. She knows how to ride one because Harvey Dent, her 'Uncle', taught her how. She takes off the plates so it can't be tied to her dad. After she is done, she gets on the bike and rides off to the Clocktower, the scene of the crime.

When she arrives, she gets off the bike and begins examining the scene. She remembers in the video that her dad was looking at something, that was out of the camera's view. She goes over to where her dad was standing and find what he was dropped.

She sees a piece of paper on the ground. It reads a bunch of seemingly random chemicals ordered by a Mr. Joseph Kerr. "Joseph Kerr?" Barbara wonder. "Joe Kerr. Joker," her eyes widen. She checks the address and sees that it was this place. Her dad must've found this paper and came here. When Joker found out he took him. Barbara looks at what her dad was looking at and sees empty chemical containers.

She checks to see if there are any clues inside. She turns the knob of the Clocktower door and enters as quietly as possible. The floor creaks as she steps inside. She walks up the stairs and screeches when she sees two figures cloaked in darkness. One of them steps out and she realizes the figures are Robin and Batman.

"Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you," Robin says walking towards her.

"You're lucky that we are on your side Miss Gordon. Otherwise you'd be dead," Batman comments without taking his eyes off of what he's inspecting.

"How'd you know?" Barbara asks.

"I got a notification when you hacked into traffic camera footage. Plus your red hair," Batman explains. He continues examining the table.

"What are you looking for?" Barbara asks. Batman remains silent. "Is it something to do with chemicals?" Batman's eyes widen and Robin begins laughing.

"What do you know?" Batman asks.

"I know that my dad had this paper, which is the reason he came here," Barbara announces waving the paper around. Batman goes to grab it, but Barbara moves her hand away before he can. "I'll only give it to you if you allow me to come.

Without even taking a minute to think Batman responds sternly, "Absolutely not."

"Then you don't get your paper." She tells him. Batman is clearly vexed.

"C'mon B, maybe she can help us." Robin tells him.

Batman narrows his eyes at Robin and answers, "No." Robin glares at Batman and Batman glares back at Robin in return.

"Fine. But you're not getting this paper." Barbara tells him.

He sighs but gives in, "Fine, but when it comes time to confront Joker you stay as far away as possible."

"Deal," she says extending her hand out to shake. Bruce pretends he doesn't see it, but Robin accepts it. She hands him the piece of paper.

Robin looks at the paper. "Damn," he mutters.

"What?" Batman asks. Robin hands him the paper. Batman's eyes widen. "He's making enough Joker Gas to kill the entire city," Batman announces, "And I know where he is going to be."

Batman grapples out the window and Robin prepares to do the same. "How am I going to go with you guys?" Barbara asks.

"Here," Robin says offering her his hand. She accepts and he pulls her in close, "Hold on." He presses the button on the grappling hook and they grapple onto a building. They swing to the building across the street and Batman calls the Batmobile. They all grapple down to the ground as the Batmobile arrives. Batman and Robin hop in and Barbara gets in the back seat.

When they've been driving for ten minutes, Barbara finally asks, "So, where are we going?"

"Gotham's reservoir. If Joker wants to affect the entire city, that's how he'll do it. Meaning that's where he and your father will be." Batman states.

"Why would he be there? Couldn't he just have henchmen do it?" Barbara asks.

"Joker is always very hands on in his crimes," Batman explains.

The rest of the ride goes by in silence, until they arrive. The tires screech as Batman pulls to a quick stop after just going a hundred forty miles per hour. Batman and Robin begins rushing towards the reservoir. Barbara runs after them and they all duck as they get close.

They see Joker standing with Gordon, watching his henchmen pick up chemicals to dump in the water. Batman knows he has to stop any Joker Toxins from going into the water, so he throws a batarang at the guard's hand.

The guard picks up his gun and begins firing wildly, not knowing where Batman is. Batman throws a batarang down the gun's barrel, stopping it from working. "Batman, joining the party a little late!" Joker announces. "Though as they say, better late than never!"

"Robin you free Gordon, I'll take care of the guards," Batman declares. Robin nods.

"What do I do?" Barbara asks.

"Don't get in our way and stay clear of Joker," Batman growls. Batman rushes over to the five guards there. He knew Joker wouldn't have brought more than five guards, even though he could've brought fifteen and done the job in way less time. Joker just wanted to get Batman's attention. He knows that Joker was probably the one who sent the receipt to Gordon, just so Batman would have a private investment in the situation.

Batman stands between the guards and the containers of chemicals. The first man comes rushing towards him to get the chemicals. Batman takes him and tosses him over his shoulder to the right. The next two attack simultaneously. One has a knife, the other a bat. The one with the bat starts swinging and Batman dodges every swing. He catches the last swing, disarms him, and hits the man trying to stab him with the bat. The now disarmed henchman who had the bat begins running away, but Batman shoots the grapple gun making it wrap around the henchman's legs. Batman begins pulling until the guard is knocked over.

Barbara watches in amazement as Batman takes out all of the henchmen. Then she sees one of them get up. She watches, but Batman doesn't realize it. She runs over and kicks the henchman behind Batman, towards Batman. Without looking Batman punches the henchman flying towards him. "Nice kick," Batman compliments in a monotone voice. She is amazed that he knew the guard was behind him and that she kicked the guard towards him.

Robin is above Joker and Gordon now. He sees that Joker has a gun to Gordon's temple. He jumps down landing on Joker causing him to drop his gun. He lands on Jokers shoulders, but doesn't stay there for long, instead opting to backflip off of him. Joker reaches for his gun and aims at Robin.

"Robin," a watching Barbara screams. Joker turns around and aims at Barbara's torso. Before he can shoot Robin delivers a flying elbow to the back of Joker's head.

Batman and Barbara rush over to Robin. "I'm fine," he assures them, "go check on the Commissioner." They all walk over to Gordon.

"Thank you Batman and Robin. And you're who?"

"Batgirl," Batman announces.

"Batgirl." Gordon repeats.


	2. Thank You

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this chapter took so long, I had serious writer's block for this story. This will probably be the only story that I publish today, since most of my efforts have been in writing this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy.**

Barbara has been Batgirl for a little over two months now. There is nothing else in the world that can give her the feeling of ecstasy that she gets from swinging from building to building, and helping those in need.

Even though she has been working with Dick and Bruce for sometime now, she is still unaware of their true identities. While they most certainly trust her with their lives, they haven't gotten around to sharing their secret identities since crime fighting is still a game to her.

Through her time fighting crime she has gotten very close with Dick though. When she does go out to patrol, she often goes with Dick. She likes Dick. He has become a close friend of hers since that fateful night when she first met him. She likes his fast talking, energetic, kind nature.

Currently she is patrolling with Dick. She has learned a lot through patrolling with Dick and Bruce. They have provided her with gadgets and even more knowledge. She got a communicator from them. And then they have given her batarangs and taught her how to throw them accurately. They gave her a grappling hook, which is probably her favorite of the gadgets they gave her. She loves the feeling of the wind blowing against her face and through her hair as she swings through the sky.

Dick is speaking telling her something, but she is completely zoning out right now, thinking about how lucky she is to be able to make a difference. Dick has stopped running now, so she stops as well. He snaps his fingers in front of her face, snapping her out of her daze. "Yeah sorry," she tells him.

"It's fine," he responds. "Just trying to tell you that there is a robbery in progress at Gotham National."

She cracks her knuckles, "Then what are we waiting for?" He smiles and they begin running along the rooftop towards the bank.

They wait atop the building overlooking the bank, scoping out the scene. They see Bullock and Montoya on the ground, and decide to talk to them to learn what is going on. Dick and Barbara jump off the building and glide toward Bullock and Montoya.

They come up behind the police officers without them hearing. "So what's the situation?" Dick asks making Bullock jump.

"Oh it's you. So there are five armed robbers in there. All with automatic weapons. There are fifteen hostages in there with them. As far as we know no one is injured." Bullock explains looking away from the heroes. When he turns back towards the young heroes, they have disappeared. "I see why Gordon hates when they do that," Bullock mutters.

Dick and Barbara peer into the giant skylight of the bank and look at the five gunman. "What are you thinking?" Barbara asks.

"I think we go in there and kick some ass," Dick responds with a smirk.

She rolls her eyes at him, "No seriously."

Dick's face goes more serious. Or as serious as his face is able to become without him breaking out laughing. "Okay, so the ventilation shaft leads up here, so we can go in through that. Then when the gunman are furthest from the hostages we drop some smoke bombs and kick their asses!" Dick exclaims excitedly. Barbara smirks at his enthusiasm and nods in agreement.

Dick walks over to the narrow shaft and opens the hatch. He motions toward Barbara telling her, "Ladies first."

"Such a gentleman," Barbara tells him mockingly. She hops in and Dick follows after.

When they are both in the vents, they begin crawling towards the center area of the bank. Dick quickly realizes that they can actually exit in one of the accountant's offices, rather than landing in the middle of the room. Knowing that to be the smarter option, he directs Barbara on which way to go.

After arriving in one of the offices, Barbara unscrews the the vent cover and exits. DIck follows her out, but hears something as he does. Honing in on the sound he hears a guards muffled footsteps.

"Go back in the vent!" Dick whisper shouts. Hearing the seriousness in his voice, Barbara does as told. As soon as she is fully in it, she turns around saying, "C'mon Robin," but gasps when she sees him being grabbed by two armed men.

Barbara reaches towards her communicator and calls Batman. "Batman," she cries out in a hushed voice once he answers, "they got Robin!" She can almost hear Bruce's scowl deepen over the phone.

"I'm in Star City right now, but I can be there in a little under an hour. Stay put!" He warns. "Batman out."

Barbara sits in the vent sullenly for a minute. She doesn't know what to do now that Dick has been taken, feeling that it was partially her fault. She knows that the robbers have communicated to the police that they have Dick, as some sort of 'ultimate negotiation'. She knows the robbers are probably assuming that by having Dick they have a free ticket out of this place. She also knows they are probably worrying. Worrying about the 'overprotective father', who will beat the crap out of you if you hurt his kid.

Barbara knows that the robbers are going to make their move before Bruce gets here. She knows she has to do something to help. Anything. Anything that will aid Dick in escaping. Then together they can save the other hostages.

She thinks she has finally come up with the ultimate plan to rescue Dick. Barbara exits the vent quietly and carefully. Looking under the door for all the robbers. When she realizes none of them are near, she slowly cracks the door, slipping through quietly.

She grapples up onto a thin ledge, scoping the scene. Her eyes quickly land on a rope bound Dick.

Dick struggles against the rope, fresh blood streaming from where he was hit in the head. He looks around the area, hoping that Barbara got out okay. He doesn't see her among the hostages, and lets out a sigh of relief. The relief goes away though, when he realizes his utility belt is on a desk, and he doesn't have any of his gadgets.

Barbara knows this is the only shot she'll have to do her plan, so she begins enacting it.

She inhales deeply, hoping her minimal training from Batman will pay off. She takes the batarang in hand, aiming carefully, and with perfect accuracy hits her target.

Dick looks surprised as a batarang whirls past his head, landing an inch to the right of his hand. He looks in the direction of where the batarang came from, and smiles when he sees Barbara.

"THE FREAKIN BAT IS HERE!" One of the robbers shouts, firing his weapon at nothing in particular.

Barbara swings away from her original spot and onto another vantage point.

Dick realizes why Barbara threw the batarang toward him. He begins rubbing the ropes, binding him, against the sharp edge of the batarang.

Barbara glides down kicking one of the robbers in the face. The robber falls over onto the ground his nose dripping blood.

Another robber aims his weapon at Barbara. Dick pulls free from his bonds, and tackles the robber to the ground. Barbara turns, surprised by the bang, and smiles when she sees Dick.

The remaining three robbers begin firing their weapons at Dick and Barbara. Dick grabs his utility belt and Barbara, and dives for cover. Dick listens carefully. When he hears the three men start reloading their weapons, he throws his batarangs, each connecting with the intended target's weapon.

Dick vaults over his cover, and dives at two men standing right next to each other, kicking them with both feet. They fall over unconscious.

Dick begins turning around when he hears, "Don't move or I'll blow his brains out!" Dick turns his head to see the last robber pointing a gun, at the head of a hostage.

Barbara sneaks behind the robber, silently. Dick smirks knowingly. "What are you smiling at!?" The robber demands. Dick remains silent. The robber goes to ask again, but before he can, Barbara grabs the man's arm, aiming it in the air, and punches him in the face. Dick turns around looking between the knocked out robber and Barbara, and smiles.

"Good job," he tells her, "Let's get out of here." Dick unties the hostages and walks toward the front of the bank, and calmly opens the doors shouting, "FRIENDLIES DON'T SHOOT!"

Bullock smiles at the kids, who never cease to amaze him. "C'mon! The hell you waiting for? An invitation? Get your asses inside!" Bullock shouts at his men. They do as told, and Dick and Barbara walk over to Bullock. "Good job in there," he tells them. Dick and Barbara nod, smiling, and grapple off.

They wait on a rooftop for a little while, while the police officers finish up at the crime scene. The Batwing pulls up shortly thereafter. Bruce stares at the two teenagers, sitting on the ledge overlooking the bank. He comes up silently and makes both of them jump, when he puts his hand on their shoulder. "You directly disobeyed my orders, and could've gotten both of you killed," he says addressing Barbara. "However, you made the right call and succeeded."

"That's his version of 'I was wrong, you were right,'" Dick whispers into Barbara's ear, making her smile. Dick gets up and walks over to the Batwing, "See you later Babs."

Bruce walks over toward Barbara and extends his hand out in gesture. She takes it and he whispers, so that only she can hear, "Thank you for saving my son."

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Also, if you didn't know I currently have a poll up on my profile page, about which character you guys would want to get a spinoff series. If you are interested go and vote. Also I now have a forum running where you guys can share thoughts and ideas on my stories. If you are interested in checking it out go over to my profile page for a link.**


	3. Sisterly Love

**Author's Note: Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, I've been busy. Anyway, this is a pretty short chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless.**

It's been weird for Barbara ever since Dick quit.

She knew where he was coming from, but still, she didn't expect him to actually stay mad. She hasn't seen him in person in over half a year. She was upstairs when the fight happened. She had come down to the cave to train. She descended the long stone staircase, and that's when she saw it.

She heard shouting, and then Dick got on his motorcycle and rode off. Just like that. She cautiously went down the stairs even further, and sees Alfred drop the tray he had been holding.

Bruce looked ashamed and angered. But not angry at Dick. He looked as if he was angry with himself for letting it get to this.

Bruce's hand trembled with anger and aggravation. A tear rolled down his face as he shouted, "GODDAMMIT!" His hand collided with a nearby table as he shouted, resulting in the table breaking in two. "I need to go find him," Bruce announced.

Before he could walk away, Alfred put a hand on his shoulder, "Master Bruce, he just needs some space. He'll be back." Bruce looked down at the ground ashamed.

"What if he doesn't come back?" Bruce asked.

Barbara just stood on the stairs, taking in the whole conversation. She couldn't believe what happened, so her feet began involuntarily taking her towards Bruce. "What the hell happened?" She asked unbelieving.

But Bruce shut her out, just like he always did. "Nothing," he answered.

The rest of the night is a blur, but she remembered in the morning, Bruce got a phone call. Hoping that it was DIck, she stood behind the door, eavesdropping. Bruce as always put the phone on speaker. "Bruce," the voice boomed.

"Clark, what the hell is it?" Bruce asked.

"Dick is here, and well, pardon my language, but he seems pretty pissed off. He showed up at my place around three in the morning. What happened?" Clark asked.

Bruce's voice softened, "Just a disagreement. I… made a mistake."

Clark stays quiet, "I'd love to keep talking, but I just heard Dick get up, call you later." And just like that, the phone call ended.

About two months later, Bruce and Dick still hadn't talked. She sat in the cave awaiting Bruce's arrival, so that she could train with someone. However, what occurred surprised her. The Batmobile pulled into the cave, and not only was Bruce in it, but a young teenager was too.

The kid popped out of the Batmobile excitedly, taking in the whole scene. "This is soooo cool," he muttered. Then his eyes landed on Barbara. "Who's she?"

"Better question, who's he?" Barbara asked.

"Barbara Gordon, meet Jason Todd," Bruce introduced. Barbara was surprised by Bruce's liberal use of secret identities.

Jason looked at her thinking. "Gordon? Like the Commissioner?" He asked.

Barbara grabbed Bruce's arm, leading him away, "Can we talk for a moment? Thanks." She responds, not waiting for an answer. "What the hell is going on? And who is the kid?"

"I told you, his name is Jason Todd. He's going to be staying with us for a little while. I'm going to train him."

Barbara's eyes widened. "You're what?"

"It's been difficult since… Dick left. I could use an extra hand. Just, see how it goes okay?"

Well she saw how it went, and to be completely honest, she actually likes this kid. Right now it is his second week of patrol. Bruce gave her the role of chaperone for the night. Not that she minds, she just has to remind herself to slow down for Jason every once in awhile.

She looks back at the boy. He is super excited. He reminds her of herself when she first started. Energetic, happy, excited.

They run along the building until they come upon an alleyway with woman screaming.

They look into the alley to see a man forcing himself onto a girl who looks around seventeen. He looks about twice her age. The man throws the girl into the wall, face first. He is about to unzip his jeans, when Jason flies off the building at him.

Jason's feet collide with the man's face, making his nose break. The man lands on the ground with a thud. Jason doesn't feel satisfied though. He looks toward the seventeen year old, to find that she is already running. Jason can't get the sick image out of his head. His fist collides with the thug's face again and again.

His once green gloves are now crimson. Barbara looks at him, eyes wide, and pulls Jason off of the man.

She sees Jason look at his hands terrified, and he's shaking. She pulls him into a hug. "It's okay," she tells him.

"I'm so sorry Babs," he whispers.

"It's fine, he deserved it," she says trying to comfort him, though she doesn't agree with the brutality.

His tears hit her suit. "I would've killed him," he tells her through the tears, and he sounds terrified.

They hear the sirens, and both grapple up to the rooftop. "C'mon, let's go get your mind off it," she tells him. He follows her hesitantly. They go to the nearby diner and sit down.

For any most diners, this would be an unusual sight, but there are a select few diners across the country, that Dick, Wally, Roy, and the rest of the Titan's stop at after missions, and this is one of them.

They sat in silence for a little while, before Jason finally talks. "Ba… tgirl, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. Just, please don't tell Batman."

She looks him in the eyes. "Don't worry, I won't. But, you have to be honest to me, has this happened before?"

He looks down towards the ground, ashamed in himself. "Yes," he admits. "Once before. I went out on patrol with Batman, he told me to go check something out for him, so I did. Along the way, I saw a guy beating a girl. Trying to ra… do bad things. I hit him until my knuckles started bleeding, and my gloves began tearing." He looks up, to see her looking at him with no judgment in her eyes.

"I guess it's because my dad used to hit my mom when he got drunk," He answers sullenly. "He didn't get drunk too often, and he was a great dad when he was sober, but when he got drunk, he hit her. And he hit me sometimes too. He wasn't the best person, but he tried to be a good dad and husband. But that went to shit when he got drunk." Jason's eyes begin tearing.

Barbara looks at him with sadness, "I'm so sorry for you she tells him," almost choking on her words from the tears.

He goes to speak, but he can't get any words out. Barbara walks over to his side of the booth and pulls him into a tight hug.


	4. The Killing Joke

**A/N: If you guys have read The Evolution of Batman and Robin, then this is the same chapter. At the time writing it for Batman and Robin felt right, but this is definitely a Batgirl story, hence why it is also going on here. If you have read the other story, no need to read this chapter, but if you want to, I'm not going to stop you.**

"Barbara, cut the crap, I know you're Batgirl, and you can't do it anymore. It's dangerous."

"You're just saying that because Robin died." Barbara counters. "It's always been dangerous. You've known for awhile that I'm Batgirl, but you only want me to quit now."

"That maniac is still out there." Gordon says, signaling this by waving his hand in the air. He continues pacing back and forth.

"Yes, and Batman need as much help as possible, trying to find him. Don't worry dad, I'm not inexperienced. I've been doing this for years." Barbara tells him.

"I know," Gordon says putting his hand on his daughter's shoulder, "but I worry."

"I know that, but I worried about you coming home since I was five, the first time you ended up in the hospital."

Gordon looks at her, "Damn, you know I would argue, but you would just continue proving me wrong." He gives her a warm embrace. "Just be careful, ok Barb?"

"Always," she replies with a warm smile.

Gordon looks down at his watch, "I really got to be going. Thanks for dinner Barb. And thanks for giving me a new perspective." He walks towards the door and unlocks it. He turns the knob and opens it to a cold grin and a tropical shirt. Barbara runs and dives tackling her dad out of the way, as the Joked fires a shot.

The bullet tears through Barbara's abdomen, severing her spinal cord. She lies on the cold floor, bleeding. "Well, well, well. I was going for the commissioner, though shooting his daughter works just as well. Doesn't it Jimbo?" Gordon grabs a vase and swings at the Joker knocking him over. He begins hitting him over and over again. But two of the men that came with Joker pull him off.

"Where'd you learn your manners? Don't you know not to attack a guest? HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Tell your goons to let go of me you maniacal bastard! C'mon face me like a man!" Gordon shouts at him. Unbeknownst to the Joker, Gordon has pressed a button in his jacket that calls Batman.

Bruce is in the Batcave when he sees a message flash across the Batcomputer. "Sir, what is it?"

"Gordon's emergency way of contacting me." Bruce puts on his cowl and jumps into the Batmobile. "Alfred send me the coordinates of the distress call." Alfred nods and begins typing away.

As Batman pulls out of the Batcave, Alfred calls him on the com. "Alfred, what are the coordinates?"

"I don't think you'll need the coordinates to get there, it's Miss Gordon's home." Alfred tells him. Bruce's face turns a pale white, and he steps on the gas more so than before.

He goes over two hundred miles per hour, narrowly dodging cars and civilians. He doesn't even wait to come to a complete stop, he just jumps from the car. He runs up the stairs of the apartment. The door is locked when he gets there. Just a single kick, and that's changed. He sees Barbara on the ground, bleeding, and with her shirt unbuttoned.

"Barbara," Bruce says quietly, nervous. He rushes over to her and feels for a pulse. He reaches for her cell phone and calls Harvey Bullock. The phone rings. Once. Then twice. Then he picks up. Bruce is carrying Barbara towards the Batmobile.

"Barbara, what's going…" Harvey begins.

"Bullock listen to me. Barbara has been shot, and the commissioner is missing. Tell the Gotham General to be ready to receive a critically injured female in early 20's who has lost a lot of blood. Blood type AB positive. Possible laceration of the spinal cord." Bruce says, beginning to drive to Gotham General Hospital.

"Ok," Bullock says on the other end trying to sound calm, but his breathing is unsteady and shaky. Bullock hangs up the phone and calls Gotham General. "This is Detective Harvey Bullock, badge number 4225. In about five minutes Batman is coping to be at your hospital with a woman around 23. She has lost a lot of blood, and is suspected to have a spinal cord injury. Her blood type is AB positive, and she will definitely need a blood transfusion. So get everything ready for her!" Bullock hangs up the phone and prays.

Bruce parks in front of the hospital and rushes in with Barbara in his arms. The doctors are waiting for him and put her on a gurney. They rush towards the elevator. Among the doctors, is Leslie Thompkins. "What is your diagnosis of her?"

"The bullet tore through her mid abdomen, possibly causing the spinal cord to be severed." Bruce says monotone.

"You know it's ok if you show emotions right?" Leslie asks him.

"Crying isn't going to help me right now. Call me when she's out of surgery."

"You aren't staying?" Leslie asks concerned.

"No, I'm going to look for whoever is responsible." Although Leslie disagrees, she knows that he copes by using his anger in a positive way. Bruce walks down the hall and opens a window. He opens the window and jumps out.

Bruce unlocks the Batmobile and hops in and starts driving. His comm starts buzzing and he clicks it accepting the call. "Master Bruce, is she ok?"

"No, and the have Gordon!" Bruce shouts, "I'm heading back to the crime scene to look for clues."

"Master Bruce, maybe you shouldn't…"

"I need to." Bruce replies calmly.

Alfred sighs, "Ok, call me if you need anything. I will alert you if I hear anything on Miss Gordon's condition."

"Ok. And… thank you Alfred."

"Anytime Master Bruce."

Bruce pulls up to Barbara's apartment and gets out of his car. He walks up the old, concrete steps leading into the apartment building. The wooden stairs creak as he makes his way up to Barbara's apartment, on the second floor. Her door is still broken from when he kicked it in, except there is police tape across the doorframe.

Bruce ducks under the tape and enters the messied apartment. The carpet is soaked with Barbara's blood. He kneels getting close to the ground, and sees a shine under the coffee table. He moves the coffee table and sees a playing card coated in blood, reflecting the lamp's light.

He clenches his fist and punches the wall putting a hole in it. The remaining offers look at him, but don't say anything. He taps his comm and utters two words, "It's him."

"Master Bruce?" Alfred asks concerned. "It's who?"

"The Joker." Bruce exits the apartment and walks quickly to the Batmobile. The top of the car slides back, and Bruce enters.

At an abandoned Amusement Park, Joker drags a bloodied Commissioner James Gordon. "How's it going Jimbo? How do you like the place?" Gordon remains silent. "I know it's a bit old, but I got it for a killer price! HAHAHAHAHA!" Joker looks over to Gordon and his smile fades, "Oh Jimbo, why aren't you smiling? C'mon, you can open up to Uncle J."

"Is my daughter alive?" Gordon says, struggling to talk using his bloodied mouth.

"Who the hell cares? She would've gotten in the way of what we are going to do!"

"What are we going to do?"

"It's a surprise," Joker says with a growing grin. They walk up to a cage. "Here we are! Now Gordon, I would really appreciate it if you took off all your clothing and gave them to me.!" He says with an innocent smile.

"And if I refuse?" Gordon asks tired.

"I'll make you take them off!" Gordon takes off his clothes and tosses them to Joker, as instructed. "Thank you!" Joker shouts.

Someone hits Gordon in the back of the head, and Gordon falls to the ground. His vision blurs as he lands on his knees. "What the hell?" Gordon mutters as he passes out.

When he wakes up he has a spiked dog collar on, attached to a leash, and is being led by very short men. He is dragged to a group of stairs, where a single large throne sits at the top. Next to the stairs on either side were thousand of baby dolls. "Prepare to go mad." Joked says standing up from his throne.

Behind Gordon are all 'circus freaks'. A Siamese twin dressed as a ballerina, a man covered in hair, a bearded woman, and three midgets. "Get him up and into the cart!" Joked shouts to the freaks.

They put him in a roller coaster cart and the ride starts. It goes into a room full of televisions. On the televisions, pictures of his naked injured daughter flash onto the screen. Gordon screams out in agony. His eyes spill water as he shouts.

Bruce continues looking for the Joker. He waits in crime alley. He sees a young woman walk in. Not far behind her are two men with with pocket knives, and an unmistakable insignia on their jackets, "Give us your money lady, and maybe will letcha live."

The woman shrieks from fear, but not from the two men, from the black shadow that comes out of nowhere and snatches one of the men. "The hell?" The remaining thug shouts frightened.

He turns around and comes face to face with Batman. He starts stumbling walking backwards, and falls on his backside. "Run!" Batman shouts at the lady, and she does as told. "Now, tell me what you know, and you might get out of here in one piece!"

The thug shakes, "Shhhhh… Sure… whatcha wwwanna know?"

"Where is the Joker?" Bruce shouts, grabbing the thug by the collar and lifting him off of his feet.

"I… I… I don't know," the thug stutters out.

"Try again," Bruce begins, "and maybe I'll actually believe you." Bruce's voice is stern and intimidating. He knows that this thug is about to open up. He cracks his knuckles.

The thug begins sweating, "I don't know."

"See, you're already getting better." Bruce says punching the man in the gut, then again in the face. Then he throws the thug into the wall. The thug falls over and looks up, hanging from the fire escape is the thug that he entered the alley with. "Do you want to end up like your friend?" The man shakes his head. "Then tell me where Joker is!"

"He'd kill me!"

"After I'm done with you, you'll pray for death! You have one chance. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1." The thug says nothing. "Ok, fine. Have it your way." Bruce walks toward the thug, he takes his arm and twists it. Finally he gives up with playing mercy, and breaks it. The thug shouts out in agony. "You still think I'm playing!?"

"Fine, fine," the thug says exasperated, "he's at…"

"No, you lost your chance to speak!" Bruce take the man's hand and starts dislocating fingers, one by one. The thug begins shedding tears. Bruce punches the thug's face. Once. Twice. Three times. The thug's face is bloodied from his broken nose and swollen cheek. Bruce's fists shine with the thug's blood.

The thug falls over at Bruce's feet; beaten, broken, and bloody. "Joker is at the old amusement park in old Gotham. Amusement Mile," the thug mutters. Bruce begins walking away, and the thug lies relieved that his beating is done.

Bruce gets in the Batmobile and begins driving. Fast. "Alfred, Joker and Gordon are at Amusement Mile. I'm heading there now."

"Ok, and Master Bruce, I just want you to know, Miss Barbara just got out of surgery. Her T6 vertebrae was severed. The doctors say she will never walk again. But they say she will definitely live. Thanks to you. Thanks to Batman. Remember, that Batman saves, he doesn't kill. I fear, that you will have to remember this more than ever, for your confrontation with the Joker."

Bruce listens, but doesn't respond. He simply turns off his comm and throws it in his passenger seat. The seat that Jason used to ride in. Jason, the boy that the Joker killed. Bruce's eyes fill with rage. Joker will not get out of the confrontation alive.

Bruce pulls up to Amusement Mile and sees Gordon in a cage. Gordon is naked and curled up, head in his knees. As he approaches he is attacked by a group of 'circus freaks'. He takes them easily.

He walks over to Gordon and tries to open the door. When he pulls at it Gordon looks up. "Batman!"

"It's locked, stay back. I'm going to use a low level explosive to destroy the lock." Batman sprays a gel on the handle of the cage and steps back a few steps. He presses a button his belt and the explosive explodes, opening the door. Gordon walks out and Bruce takes off his cape handing it to Gordon. "Don't worry paramedics are on their way."

As Bruce begins to run off to find Joker, Gordon stops him, "Batman, my daughter… is she ok?" Batman dreaded having to tell Gordon, though he knew he inevitably would have to.

"She's fine Jim, though she was badly hurt," Bruce looks down, "Don't worry, Joker will pay for this."

"Don't kill him, bring him in by the book. You have to show him that you're not like him. You need to show him that our way works."

Gordon's words surprise Bruce slightly, but Gordon has always been sort of like an uncle to Bruce. And after seeing that Gordon, after being tortured, and knowing that his daughter was hurt by this man, still doesn't want Batman to kill him, speaks volumes. Bruce nods, and continues to run.

The speakers start booming Joker's voice. "Oh Batsy! Yes YOU! I'm in the funhouse, come get me!" Bruce runs into the funhouse and is encircled by a hall of mirrors. "Did I hit a string with Gordon? I'm pretty sure I did! Has he been driven mad?" Joker's voice booms from the speaker. "Because if he has, then I've proven my point. Any sane man can be driven mad from one bad day. Pissing off you was just an added bonus! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Bruce continues running through the maze looking for Joker, "You know I had a bad day once, and you did too. You and me are alike in that sense. We were both created from tragedy, we both went insane because of trauma. But the difference is that I embraced the truth, you pretended that you were ok. You're delusional, and I hate you for it," Joker finishes.

"Why can't you just see it's all a joke? Life isn't meant to be taken serious, it's all just one big messed up joke! So WHY. AREN'T. YOU. LAUGHING?"

Bruce crashes through a mirror knocking over Joker. "Because I've heard it all before," Bruce replies, "not funny the first time," Bruce punches him, "not funny now!" Bruce walks over to the downed Joker and says, "I spoke to Gordon before coming inside, he wants me to do this by the book, after everything you did. He is still sane after all the torture. Maybe it's a joke, a joke on you. Because you can't handle one bad day." Joker takes out his joy buzzer and goes for Bruce. He dodges and knocks it out of the Joker's hand. Bruce begins sprinting and knocks Joker out the window.

They land outside in the pouring rain. Joker lies on the ground in pain, while Bruce is able to stand. "Go ahead," Joker says coughing, "beat me up, kill me for Christ's sake."

"No, Gordon said to do it by the book and I will. We will get you the help you need."

"Why? I shot some helpless girl, tortured Gordon, hell I even killed Robin."

"And maybe, none of that would have happened, had we tried to get you the help, you so obviously needed," Bruce reasons.

"That reminds me of a joke. See there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum. And one day, they decide they don't like living in an asylum any more. They decide they're going to escape.

"So like they get up onto the roof. And there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moonlight… stretching away to freedom. Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, his friend daredn't make the leap. Y'see he's afraid of falling.

"So the first guy has an idea. He says, 'Hey! I have a flashlight with me! I'll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk across the beam and join me!'

"But the second guy just shakes his head. He suh- says… he says 'Wh- what do you think I am? CRAZY? You'd just turn it off when I was half way across!'" The Joker begins laughing. "HAHAHAHA HAHA HA!"

Bruce looks at the Joker, and then his serious scowl turns to a grin, "Heh. Heh heh heh heh!" They both laugh together in the pouring rain. After a while Bruce's stomach hurts from laughing so long so he leans over and holds onto the Joker for support.

The sirens start wailing a little while later. The cops are frightened by the sight they see. A silhouette of Batman and Joker laughing together. Over what, they don't know, but the sight truly terrifies them.

 **Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed it. And if you haven't checked out the Evolution of Batman and Robin, I would suggest it. As always, reviews are much appreciated, and I'm going to take down my poll pretty soon, so if you are interested in that, go to my profile page.**


	5. Cain

Tim has been Robin for two months, and Bruce has enjoyed having someone to work with, however Tim isn't accompanying him on this mission tonight. He's currently trying to track down world famous assassin David Cain, who he has learned was hired to assassinate Jim Gordon.

He's been trying to get a hold of Jim to tell him, however he hasn't picked up yet. It doesn't help that his relationship with Jim has been strained ever since the paralyzation of Barbara, however he cannot let his personal life bleed into this.

Leaping across another building, he taps his fingers to his cowl, "Barbara?"

"Bruce? What do you need?" the voice asks on the other side of the line.

"Barbara, would you happen to know where your father is currently. I've been trying to get a hold of him for over an hour," Bruce explains to her, a hint of concern coated in his voice.

Picking up on this, Barbara replies, "He's at my apartment, why is something wrong?"

Quickly, Bruce changes paths, and heads toward Barbara's apartment on the other side of town. "Barbara, I'll be there in a minute, get your father away from any windows immediately," he commands. Pressing a button on his gauntlet, the Batmobile comes flying down a back alley. He jumps off the roof, landing in the car, and steps on the gas.

"Why? What's wrong?" Barbara asks, panic evident in her voice.

Bruce swerves around another car, accelerating even more. "I'll explain when I get there."

He continues speeding up until he has Barbara's building in sight. He launches himself from the car and glides to her apartment, landing on her terrace.

She sees him and opens the door, so he can enter. "C'mon, we have to go," Bruce tells Barbara and Jim who is just now aware of his presence.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jim asks Bruce as he moves toward him.

Grabbing Jim's arm, he tells him, "Someone is trying to kill you. I'm going to stop them, but first, I need to get you somewhere safe."

Getting up, Jim looks at Bruce's white eyes. "Slow down, who's trying to kill me? And why are they trying to kill me?"

"An assassin trained by the League of Assassins named David Cain. He is one of the top assassins in the world," Bruce explains. "I found out when…" However before he can finish, a athletically built man with white hair crashes through the window. He throws a knife in the Commissioner's direction. Bruce catches the blade, just before it hits Jim.

Cain pulls out a sword, and begins slicing at Bruce. He swings precisely and quickly, giving Bruce a run for his money. And while Bruce was able to dodge all the attacks, several almost hit him.

Bruce takes the offensive this time, and throws a punch at Cain's face, which he catches. He goes to flip Bruce, who lands and in turn flips Cain, who lands as well. The two circle each other, before Cain decides to attack once more. He slices at Bruce's stomach, which Bruce dodges, but knocks into a table because of.

Due to his lack of balance, Bruce is barely able to block the punch that Cain throws at his abdomen. However, he isn't so lucky with the next strike that Cain throws at his temple.

Barbara reaches for a secret switch on the side of her wheelchair, which releases two batons. She throws one at Cain's head, which he moves out of the way of.

He prepares to attack Barbara and Jim, when a small figure in all black, rushes in and tackles Cain to the ground, and quickly getting on their feet. Cain acts as though he recognizes the person, and almost relaxes slightly. "Get out of my way," he commands.

"No," the female figure responds. Cain's eyes widen at the words spoken by the figure. In his moment of confusion, the figure jumps up and strikes Cain in the chest.

The figure strikes with such force, that Cain is winded enough for them to continue the attack, without Cain doing anything. The figure throws a flurry of punches at Cain's abdomen. The figure finally delivers a heavy hit to Cain's head.

Stumbling back, trying to regain his footing, Cain decides it'd be better to attack later, and dives out the window. The figure seeing his retreat, dives out the window, trying to follow him as well.

"One of yours?" Jim asks confused, as Bruce gets up from the ground.

"No," Bruce answers just as confused, if not more so, than Jim.

Eying Bruce, Jim asks, "Then who the hell is she?"

Looking at Jim and then at the window where both Cain and the mysterious figure dived out, Bruce responds, "I have no idea. But I intend on finding out." He turns around and examines the window for any evidence. He sees some blood on the window, from someone cutting themself when they entered or exited. Taking out a vile, he let's the blood drip in it so he can examine it at the Batcave. "Okay, c'mon Jim, you're coming with me. You too, Barbara."

"I'm not gonna argue," Jim tells him, grabbing his coat and wheeling Barbara toward the door. He opens the door and pushes Barbara through the opening.

When they get down the elevator and out the entrance, they see Bruce standing by the Batmobile. "Here," he says, helping Barbara into the Batmobile. He puts the wheelchair in the back, and Jim gets in as well.

Bruce gets in and starts the car. He presses a button and autopilot is initiated, as is a blackening of the windshield so Jim couldn't see where they were going.

When they arrive back at the cave, Tim is waiting for Bruce in full uniform. "What happened?" He asks when he sees both Jim and Barbara getting out of the car.

"An assassin targeting Jim," Bruce explains walking over to the Batcomputer. He sits down and starts examining the blood sample. First he cross checks it with David Cain's DNA to see if it's his, however something unusual happens.

"Wait…" Barbara says looking over Bruce's shoulder. "Does that mean that the girl who saved us was his daughter?"

Tim looks at them with a raised eyebrow, "Someone saved you guys?"

"Someone assisted me in fighting David Cain. They seemed to be familiar with one another, however I wouldn't have suspected them being father and daughter," Bruce explains to Tim.

The chair slides back as Bruce begins getting up. "Where are you going?" Tim asks.

"I'm going to go find David Cain," Bruce tells him as he walks over to the Batmobile.

Tim runs over and hops into the Batmobile, "I'm coming!" Bruce eyes him, then starts the car and drives out of the cave, leaving Barbara and Jim.

After driving around for an hour, Barbara's voice comes over the comm, "Since Agent A isn't currently here, I thought I'd be of use. Anyway, I saw Cain in security footage from GCPD about five minutes ago, he should still be in vicinity."

"Okay, thanks Barbara," Bruce replies, take a turn down an alley. He steps on the gas and speeds off toward GCPD.

The car slides to a stop, Tim and Bruce jump out and grapple to a vantage point to see if they can spot Cain. They don't see Cain, however they do see the figure from before, his daughter. So, they jump from the vantage point and glide to her location.

When they get there though, they realize it was a trap when they see that his daughter is tied in place. Before they have time to react, Cain comes out and elbows Bruce in the back of the head.

Tim reaches for his bo staff, but it gets knocked out of his hand before he can use it. He swings at Cain, but Cain easily moves out of the way of ever punch he throws. However, that was a distraction, and while Tim was throwing punches, he threw a batarang at the rope holding Cain's daughter in place.

His daughter realizes this, and uses it to cut herself free, while Bruce and Tim fight Cain. Bruce swipes at Cain's legs, while Tim throws a punch at Cain's chest. Cain's legs are hit, and he loses his balance, allowing Tim's punch to land.

Cain grabs a knife and throws it at them, however, his daughter catches it. "Cassandra, STOP!" He shouts at his daughter.

"No… you… stop," She tells him unsure if she said it right, but still meaning it. He gets up and begins swinging violently at her, but she easily dodges every blow, knowing his moves before he does.

Seeing the way he slightly tilted his head and bent his knee, she knows he's going for a quick jab in the abdomen. She catches the punch and kicks at his knee, knocking him to the ground. Then she throws a quick strike to his head that knocks him out.

"Thank you," Bruce says offering his hand to Cassandra. She takes his hand and shakes it. "You're welcome to stay with us if you have nowhere else to go," Bruce offers to her gently and kindly, as he ties up Cain. She nods with a small smile, and follows him to the Batmobile.

They first quickly let Bullock know that they left a world famous assassin on the roof, and then begin driving to the Batcave. When they get there, Barbara is still at the computer as is Jim.

They hear the Batmobile, and Barbara and Jim go over to Bruce and Tim and notice that Cassandra is with them. Barbara wheels over to Cassandra and hugs her, "Thank you for saving my dad." Cassandra seems taken aback by the gesture at first, but gives into it.

"What's gonna happen to the girl?" Gordon asks Bruce, while Barbara hugs her.

Bruce sighs, "I don't think she has anyone Jim… I can't let her be on her own, I have to take her in."

Jim chuckles nodding, and pats Bruce on the shoulder, "I'll discreetly help make it official that Bruce Wayne adopted a young girl." Bruce looks at him shocked for a minute. "C'mon, I've worked with you for a decade. What kind of cop would I be if I couldn't figure that out." Jim yawns, "If it wouldn't be too much to ask, could you drive me back to my house now?"

"Sure, Jim," Bruce tells him.


End file.
